Exploratory Writing: Everyday magic for life and work

** Business Book Awards 2023 Finalist ** ‘A really powerful book.’ - Bruce Daisley Simple tools, extraordinary results. Everything we’re learning about how we function best as humans in the digital age is pointing towards one of our oldest technologies: the pen and the page. Exploratory writing – writing for ourselves, not for others, writing when we don’t know exactly what it is we want to say – is one of the most powerful and lightweight thinking tools we have at our disposal. It’s also been, until now, one of the most overlooked. But the world’s most influential leaders are increasingly using the techniques in this book to support the key skills of the 21st century – self-mastery, creativity, focus, solution-finding, collaboration – and so can you. Alison Jones has been helping business leaders identify and articulate what matters over a 30-year career in publishing and as a coach. The founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast and community, she is passionate about the power of writing to change ourselves and the world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part 1 - Why exploratory writing? The science Is this about better writing? Let’s get started Part 2 – The toolkit Exploratory narrative freewriting mindfulness chimp management empathy Metaphor surfacing metaphors finding new metaphors forced metaphors analogy Inquiry learning through inquiry inquiring of future you appreciative inquiry humble inquiry Visual thinking writing into drawings storyboarding graphic organizers developing your own visuals Part 3 – Using the tools Wellbeing and mindfulness sense-making mental resilience happiness self-coaching Clarity and focus decluttering focus and deep work reflective practice Creativity and problem-solving creative thinking problem-solving prototyping Leadership and collaboration visioning uncovering bias conflict resolution culture change Conclusion: over to you Appendices: glossary of tools, list of prompts, bibliography

About the Author :
Alison Jones is founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast. Formerly Director of Innovation Strategy at Palgrave Macmillan, she now works with business leaders and entrepreneurs to help them clarify their thinking and communicate more effectively. She has written and edited several books, most recently This Book Means Business (2018), speaks regularly at industry and business events, and contributes articles on books and writing to national press and industry publications.

Review :
Anyone who writes regularly knows that writing is a powerful tool for thinking. This book makes that magic accessible to everyone, at any time. Read it!’ Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Power of Regret I was moved by Alison’s book. Exploratory Writing made me rethink the role that writing played in my life – a really powerful book. Bruce Daisley, author of The Joy of Work and Fortitude Strongly suggest you go out and buy this book to support your writing habit or to help you plan for tough conversations or discover perspective. The page is your oyster! I love this book. Packed full of research made simple and a load of 6 minutes prompts to make sense of what’s going on inside your head and generate ideas. Been using it for my business and my personal life and it’s working wonders. ...a clarion call about writing’s infinite power to help us through our everyday ideas, decisions and to help us get where we want to go in life. I have read a lot of books about writing, but this one is something different. I really enjoyed it... I would recommend this book for any writer who wants techniques to help them free up their writing and help them to plumb their hidden depths. A whole new way of exploring the power of writing. This book helps you to unlock the inner genius that's waiting to be discovered in the recesses of your brain. And it's a brilliant read. Reveals a whole world of ways to bring the inside thoughts (especially those you didn't even know you had) out into the world. It helps you get unstuck, it helps you get creative and it helps you connect with yourself and others. I found this book a delight to read. It is really well written and engaging, gentle, inspiring, and thought provoking. There are lots and lots of creative ideas suggested to help improve my writing. This book has profound implications for any writer. Stop fearing the blank page and get started with a simple practice of exploratory writing that will transform your life on and off the page. I don’t often complete a “guide” with any real feeling of being able to take it forward as part of my daily routine but I genuinely believe exploratory writing will be an invaluable asset for my wellbeing, writing and work!